Q & A Archive

Not even two weeks after being appointed as the new head of Saudi Arabia’s foreign intelligence agency, Prince Bandar bin Sultan is again in the news, this time because of unconfirmed rumors that he has been assassinated. Bandar, who served as the Saudi ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005, largely disappeared from the world stage since being recalled from that post. His return to the spotlight through his promotion this month is seen as part of a shift toward a more hawkish Saudi Arabian foreign policy as the kingdom faces major challenges in the region, including but […]

Zimbabwe recently announced it was moving ahead with plans to require foreign-owned banks to give 51 percent ownership to locals. In an email interview, Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, a professor in the department of development studies at the University of South Africa, discussed Zimbabwe’s indigenization program. WPR: What is the political and economic strategy behind Zimbabwe’s move to indigenize ownership in various sectors over the past few years? Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni: Over the past 10 years, Zimbabwe has consolidated itself into a typical nationalist state as opposed to a neo-colonial state. The leitmotif of this nationalist state has been the ideology […]

With his grip over Syria apparently loosening, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has abandoned the border area between Syria and Turkey, allowing Kurdish militants to take control of several towns in northern Syria. The development heightens the possibility of involvement by Iraqi Kurds as well as by Turkey, introducing new tensions to the Syrian conflict. “Syria is fragmenting, and for the first time in recent history Kurds are taking matters into their own hands,” said Hugh Pope, Turkey and Cyprus project director for the International Crisis Group. Pope explained that it is still unclear whether Syrian Kurds will unite to push […]

Ghanaian President John Atta Mills died Tuesday, three days after turning 68 years old and five-and-a-half months before the end of his first term in office. In other African countries, the death of political leaders has often led to political crises, including coups, such as Togo in 2005 and Guinea in 2008. But in Ghana, which has long been held up as a model of democracy for Africa, the peaceful transfer of power following the death of the president has only improved its reputation. “That John Dramani Mahama, Mills’ vice president, would be sworn in within hours of Mills’ death […]

The British government revealed plans in early July to restructure the British army, including cutting the number of regular soldiers from 102,000 to 82,000 by 2020. In an email interview, Michael Codner, the director of the military sciences department at the Royal United Services Institute in London, discussed the U.K.’s defense cuts. WPR: What are the concrete consequences, in terms of force size and capabilities, of the defense cuts the U.K. has announced? Michael Codner: The cuts in the army, as well as to the Royal Marines, who were affected through the earlier 18 percent cuts to the navy, are […]

After key security aides of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were killed in a bombing attack last week, media coverage became saturated with pronouncements of Assad’s “imminent” fall and reports of contingency planning for the collapse of his regime. Trend Lines spoke with Andrew J. Tabler, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Jeffrey White, a defense fellow at WINEP, about the risks, the opportunities and the unknowns of a post-Assad Syria. According to White, the strategic opportunities include “detaching Syria from Iran’s list of allies, getting Syria out of the terrorism business and breaking Syria’s […]

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius visited Algeria recently to discuss bilateral relations and the security situation in Mali. In an email interview, Laurence Aïda Ammour, a research fellow at the Bordeaux Institute for Political Science and a consultant in international security and defense at GéopoliSudconsultance, discussed French-Algerian relations. WPR: How have relations between France and Algeria evolved over the past decade in terms of trade and diplomatic ties? Laurence Aïda Ammour: Bilateral relations between France and Algeria have always gone through cycles of crisis. They also depend on personal ties between the leaders of both countries. In 2003, French President […]

Amid questions over the policy direction of a Muslim Brotherhood-governed Egypt, newly elected President Mohamed Morsi met with two rival Palestinian leaders this week. Morsi met with Mahmoud Abbas, the Fatah president of the Palestinian Authority, on Wednesday and with Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Hamas, which controls Gaza, on Thursday. “If you are Abbas, you are very concerned about the strengthening and emboldening of Hamas,” said David Schenker, director of the Program on Arab Politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He emphasized that the meeting between Morsi and Meshaal marked the first meeting between Hamas, the […]

The head of a Chinese military delegation visiting the Seychelles earlier this month said that his country was interested in developing closer military ties with the Indian Ocean nation. In an email interview, Jonathan Holslag, a researcher at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, discussed China’s relations with the Seychelles. WPR: What is the current state of China-Seychelles political, trade and military relations? Jonathan Holslag: The partnership is characterized more by great expectations on the part of the Seychelles rather than a great Chinese presence. China’s visibility is growing. More tourists are discovering the island states, and some private […]

On Monday, a U.S. Navy refueling ship in the Persian Gulf opened fire on what turned out to be a fishing boat, killing one Indian man and wounding three others after they ignored several warnings to stop their rapid approach. While the U.S. has offered condolences to the families of the fishermen, it has suggested that the use of force was justified, particularly in the context of a Navy that is more wary than ever of the dangers small boats can pose to large ships. “Starting with the USS Cole attack, the U.S. Navy came to recognize that there were […]

Colombian security forces are in demand internationally, with the United Arab Emirates seeking to hire 3,000 Colombian soldiers and Mexico and Honduras turning to Colombian security officials for advice on fighting crime. In an email interview, Elyssa Pachico, a researcher, writer and senior editor for InSight Crime, discussed Colombia’s status as a security exporter. WPR: How has the international profile of Colombia’s security forces changed over the past decade or so? Elyssa Pachico: In the 1990s, Colombia’s security forces were seen at best as unprofessional and at worst as totally corrupt. Right up until the implementation in 2000 of Plan […]

Twenty Ethiopian journalists and opposition figures accused of trying to topple the government will now spend between eight years and the rest of their lives in prison. As the New York Times reported, these defendants, who were convicted on terrorism charges, were the victims of security concerns being used “as an excuse to crack down on dissent and media freedoms.” The Horn of Africa country, located between Sudan and Somalia, is seen by the U.S. as a source of stability and as a key regional partner in the war on terror, explained Claire Beston, the Ethiopia researcher at Amnesty International. […]

Moqtada al-Sadr, the populist Iraqi Shiite cleric, has returned to Iraq from Iran once more, ready to take on a prominent role in mainstream politics. For Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was responsible for some of the bloodiest violence during the U.S. occupation, it is the latest of several evolutions since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Matthew Duss, director of Middle East Progress at the Center for American Progress, told Trend Lines that Sadr will have his work cut out for him moving forward. “Here is this firebrand who very effectively exploited popular anger at the American occupation, […]

The International Criminal Court sentenced Thomas Lubanga, a former militia leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to 14 years in prison Tuesday. The sentence, which was the first imposed by the ICC since it was launched in The Hague 10 years ago, established the use of children in war as an international crime. “The verdict and sentence underscore the gravity of the crimes charged — the recruitment, enlistment and use of child soldiers — and the determination of the international community to hold accountable those who commit them,” James Goldston, founding executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, […]

Uzbekistan formally withdrew from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on June 28. In an email interview, Alexander Cooley, the Tow professor of political science at Barnard College, Columbia University, discussed Uzbekistan’s rationale for leaving the Russian-backed security organization. WPR: What were the causes, both underlying and immediate, behind Uzbekistan’s exit from the CSTO? Alexander Cooley: Uzbekistan had been a nonenthusiastic member of the Russian-led CSTO since 2006, when it rejoined the organization after falling out with the West over the government’s brutal crackdown on protesters in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan in May 2005. However, Tashkent has long […]

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Mongolia on Monday on the second day of her Asia tour intended to boost U.S. economic engagement with the region. She praised the Asian country as a model of democracy and called it an “inspiration.” By visiting Mongolia, Clinton aimed to put to rest the idea that democracy is a Western ideal in conflict with Asian values, explained Stephen Noerper, senior vice president of the Korea Society. “It provided the U.S. with an opportunity to acknowledge and congratulate Mongolia on its path toward democracy and to quietly acknowledge the fragility of that and […]

In El Salvador, a dispute between the Constitutional Court and the National Assembly has led to two separate groups of judges claiming to be the country’s lawful Supreme Court. In an email interview, Linda Garrett, a senior policy analyst for El Salvador at the Center for Democracy in the Americas, discussed El Salvador’s constitutional crisis. WPR: What is the immediate background to El Salvador’s constitutional crisis? Linda Garrett: The confrontation between the Constitutional Court and a majority coalition in the legislature is as political as it is institutional, a reflection of the deep polarization that still divides El Salvador 20 […]